Fracking boom is coming -- let's be ready

Jul. 15, 2012

The approaching fracking boom coming our way is both exciting and frightening. It will bring great economic opportunities, but it also brings many unanswered questions.

The Coshocton Tribune recently sent reporter Russ Zimmer to interview Pennsylvania residents where companies are drilling in the Marcellus Shale. His goal, as his stories reflected, was to see what impact the drilling has had on those living in the area, as well as businesses. His stories appeared in our Sunday and Monday editions. If you didn't read them, you should.

The idea was to get a glimpse of what will be coming our way.

Drilling has been going on in Washington County, Pa., since 2004. Since then, nearly 2,000 horizontal wells have been fracked in the 10-county region around Pittsburgh.

According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, 285 horizontal drilling permits have been issued in Ohio as of July 1, most of which were issued this year to Chesapeake Energy. The majority of the drilling and fracking activity in the state is currently centered around Carroll County, but we know it's only a matter of time before we find ourselves in the same situation as Pennsylvania. Officials with Anadarko Petroleum Corporation have said they still are in the exploration phase here, and activity will pick up in a year or two.

In Coshocton County, the permit count sits at three -- with drilling taking place in Mill Creek Township. Three permits have been issued in Muskingum County, two in Knox County and six in Tuscarawas County. No permits have been issued in Holmes or Licking counties, according to ODNR.

While drilling for oil and gas is not new to our area, horizontal drilling is. Operators drill one well deep into the earth and then drill outward horizontally in different directions. Then, a mixture of water and chemicals are injected into the earth. The pressure causes shale rock formations to fracture, and natural gas is released. The fluid is extracted, and the natural gas and more lucrative associated liquids are mined through the well.

This new process of drilling has raised many questions. The most prevalent: Do the benefits outweigh the risks?

There's no doubt we would profit from the influx of money through job creation, mineral rights leases, the sale of property, close access to an inexpensive, domestic fuel, among other things. But are we prepared for what we know fracking brings? Terrible traffic, noise, damaged roads, constant construction and infighting in the community.

Those on both sides -- even scientists -- still are debating these issues. There are no long-term studies to detail the aftereffects since this type of natural gas extraction is relatively new.

That's why we sent a reporter to Pennsylvania, to get firsthand accounts from those living in areas where fracking is taking place. That's why we've published numerous local and Associated Press stories, and will continue to do so.

What we do know is much of Eastern Ohio sits on the Utica Shale, and the more we educate ourselves, the better prepared we will be for what is coming our way.